1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a center cluster panel constituting a portion of an instrument panel of a vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
As described in, for example, Patent Reference 1, an instrument panel arranged on front sides of a driver seat and a passenger seat of a vehicle is attached with a center cluster panel made of a resin provided with various instruments and switches. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing a sectional structure of an example of the center cluster panel.
As shown by FIG. 9, a center cluster panel 102 is formed with a containing portion 111 for containing, for example, a display panel of a car navigation system or an audio apparatus, and an attaching portion 112 for attaching an operation dial of an air conditioner. Further, the center cluster panel 102 is formed with a projected portion 120 projected to a rear side of a vehicle at an upper portion thereof. The projected portion 120 is constituted by an upper panel 121 extended to a rear side of the vehicle and disposed at an uppermost portion of the cluster panel 102, a curved face panel 122 connected to a portion on a rear side of the vehicle of the upper panel 121 and directed to a front side of the vehicle by being bent from a connected portion 124 of the same, and a lower panel 123 connected to the curved face panel, extended to the front side of the vehicle and disposed on a lower side of the vehicle of the upper panel 121. The projected portion 120 functions as an “eaves” for restraining outer light of the vehicle from being directly incident on a display or the like disposed on a lower side thereof to deteriorate an optical recognizability thereof, further, contributes to also promotion of a beautiful outlook of the center cluster panel 102.
Meanwhile, when a passenger falls to the front side of the vehicle in impacting the vehicle, there is a concern that the head portion of the passenger is brought into contact with the projected portion 120 of the center cluster panel 102. Therefore, according to the center cluster panel 102, a wall thickness thereof is set such that even when the head portion of the passenger is brought into contact with the projected portion 120 in impacting the vehicle, a rigidity substantially capable of absorbing the impact by deforming the projected portion 120 is provided.
Patent Reference 1: JP-A-2003-146111
Meanwhile, in recent years, in order to achieve light-weighted formation of the vehicle, it is desired to make a wall thickness of a center cluster panel as thin as possible including the above-described projected portion. However, when the wall thickness of the center cluster panel, particularly, the wall thickness of the projected portion having a possibility of being brought into contact with the passenger is simply made thin uniformly, the rigidity is reduced and there is a concern of bringing about a crack at the projected portion by bringing the head portion of the passenger into contact with the projected portion in impacting the vehicle. Further, when the crack is brought about at the projected portion in this way, there is a concern of deteriorating an impact absorbing function of the projected portion as described above.